ISHS Acta Horticulturae 1112: XXIX International Horticultural Congress on Horticulture: Sustaining Lives, Livelihoods and Landscapes (IHC2014): International Symposia on Water, Eco-Efficiency and Transformation of Organic Waste in Horticultural Production
Carbon budget of a temperate-climate vineyard - a green future for viticulture? |
| Authors: | F. Meggio, A. Pitacco |
| Keywords: | grapevine, carbon allocation, eddy covariance, micrometeorology, net ecosystem productivity |
| DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.2016.1112.61 |
| Abstract:
A common belief is that agricultural ecosystems cannot be net carbon sinks. Indeed, many technical inputs, heavy periodical harvests, and the repeated disturbances of upper soil layers, all contribute to a substantial loss both of the old and newly-synthesized organic matter. Perennial tree crops, however, are managed differently: they establish a permanent woody structure, stand undisturbed in the same field for decades, generate woody pruning debris, and are often grass-covered. We monitored the Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) by eddy covariance and the carbon partitioning in a temperate vineyard in northeastern Italy. A complete year budget confirms a substantial sink capacity of the system, with a NEE around 800 g C m-2 ha-1, with grape harvest representing about 20-25% of it. Biometrical assessment of growth and partitioning show a good agreement with micrometeorological measurements and demonstrate a large input of organic matter into the soil. Temperate-climate vineyards seem to be good candidates to store carbon in agricultural systems. Management practices can be defined to preserve this storage, possibly contributing to the global carbon budget. | |
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